COVID-19 is not only keeping us from social gatherings but from home when we’ve decided to dorm on campus. In order to comply with state orders, we have to cope with the never-ending homesickness. These are all the ways to cope with homesickness when the pandemic is keeping you from home.
I’ve always been so lucky to have the skill to adjust to anywhere I go. I sleep warmly and comfortably; I don’t let my emotions get the best of my days. Being the youngest and only girl out of my two older brothers, it took a lot for me to let myself feel the emptiness away from home. It just started a couple of weeks ago. I don’t think I realized it all at once. I mean, when my parents flew back home after dropping me off to quarantine for two weeks, I said “Shoot, they’re actually gone.” The first night was the hardest because I was all alone in my dorm, but I didn’t feel as torn until about two weeks ago. My parents sent me a “care package” with snacks, nail polish, a photo album filled with photos, and handwritten notes that reminded me of how much I had missed them. I texted them that night about how hard I realized it was and how much I suppressed it all. Since then, I’ve allowed myself to properly cope and feel my feelings.
I’m exactly 2,454 miles away from home while I sit on my weird rocking chair at my desk or lay on my plastic dorm mattress. Like any sad feeling on the spectrum of emotions, homesickness hits the hardest when we’re alone or out of tasks to complete. For me, that means the overwhelming aura of incompleteness rushes into my brain just as I’m trying to fall asleep. After I’ve changed into my pajamas, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and climbed into bed, I adjust to the coolness of my sheets so that I can let my thoughts overcome me. Some days are always harder than others, but I’ve found out all the ways to cope.
Make a playlist: all the songs you share and all the ones tied to a memory.
I did this long before I knew I would be this far from home. My Apple Music is filled with tunes that take me back to a certain moment in time. Because of this and the way my family cherishes music, it’s easy for me to associate artists and songs with them and home. It’s the best way I convey my feelings and the easiest form of art to form a connection to.
Watch movies: the ones that remind you of what it’s like to sit all together in the living room.
Animated movies I watched as a kid or classic films like Stand By Me, Forrest Gump, and the Halloween franchise shaped me and continue to remind me of how it felt to watch them for the first time. Or specific movies tied to specific relationships, like Juno with my Dad, The Karate Kid (2010) with my brothers, and every single 80s teen film with my Mom.
Scroll through your camera roll: smile, laugh and cry at all the videos and photos you have of them.
This is the toughest thing to digest. They’re actual visual memories of a specific time that tend to trigger all emotions at once. Apple’s latest update allows for widgets to display across multiple home screens which calls for an endless slideshow of nostalgia and missing your loved ones. And if you’re into it, edit a video for them. You can combine a song and memories you all share.
Write about them: record memories or create stories.
My notes app is filled with all the things I can think of to write about, including diary entries, phrases people have said to me, or scribbles my Dad accidentally sent in the family group chat. The notes app is my home away from home. It is where my inner thoughts rest until I find the courage to write it on paper or type in a document. For me, this Her Campus article is just another way I’ve found to cope.
Call them or text them: in the age of video chat, it’s the best medicine.
I’m left feeling refreshed and warm after a phone call, making it even easier to fall asleep. Texts are even simpler to put out into the universe. Every time it gets hard, I text my family and it’s comforting to know that it’s hard for all parties involved. Talking is the hardest but best thing anyone can do.
When the going gets tough we must do our best with what we have. Sometimes being away from our family is the last thing we are capable of doing in order to heal homesickness. In this year’s case, COVID-19 has forced us to cope in any other way that we can. The ultimate way to cope with homesickness? Do everything and anything possible that reminds you of home and your family.